• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.311-318
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• 2022

Salicylic acid (SA), a phenolic compound, plays a pivotal role in regulating a wide range of physiological and metabolic processes in plants such as antioxidant cellular defense, photosynthesis, and biotic and abiotic stress responses during the growth and development. We examined the effect of exogenous SA application (100 mg·L^-1) on the growth, yield, photosynthetic characteristics, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant enzyme activity of chili pepper plants under high temperature and drought stress conditions. SA treatment induced increases of net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs) and transpiration rate (Tr) under the stress condition with the highest level after the third treatment. The contents of malondialdehyde and H₂O₂ were significantly lower in the third treatment of SA compared to the control. The activity of ascorbate peroxidase, catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, increased in treated plants by up to 247, 318, 55 and 54%, respectively compared to the nontreated control. There was no significant difference in the growth characteristics between SA-treated and nontreated plants, while the SA treatment increased marketable yield (kg/10a) by about 15% compared to the nontreated control. Taken together, these results suggest that foliar application of SA alleviates physiological damages caused by the combination of drought and heat stress, and enhances the photosynthetic capacity and antioxidant enzyme activities, thereby improving tolerance to a combination of water deficit and heat stress in chili pepper plants.

• The Korean Journal of Mycology
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.86-90
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• 2014

Button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) strains from diverse origins were compared in this study to obtain basic information on their growth and biochemical properties that are helpful for breeding. Among 31 dikaryotic strains tested, most strains showed better mycelial growth on oatmeal agar than on MEA and PDA. Mycelia of the mushroom strains revealed ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity the most clearly among the seven extracellular enzymes tested. All the strains showed protease activity, but ${\beta}$-glucosidase activity was found in 27 strains and xylanase activity was found in 30 strains. The activity of avicelase, CM-cellulase, amylase, and pectinase was detected in less than 20 strains. These results implied that enzymatic characteristics could be used as a criterion of strain selection for breeding study.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2011

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) sprouts are a vegetable commonly used as a functional food material due to its high vitamin C concentration and antioxidant activity. In this experiment, we measured the changes in the antioxidant activity of several barley cultivars as well as in the concentrations of related compounds such as ascorbate and glutathione upon treatment with UV-B or salicylic acid (SA). The six barely cultivars were grown in a plant growth chamber (25/$18^{\circ}C$, 14/10 h, 200 ${\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-1}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, 70% relative humidity) for 10 days. All barely cultivars showed different 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activities, which were increased by UV-B treatment and not by SA treatment. The changes in ascorbate concentrations were correlated with DPPH scavenging activity in both the treatments, suggesting that the antioxidant activity in barley sprouts was mainly dependent on ascorbate concentration. Furthermore, changes in ascorbate concentration showed similar tendencies to changes in free sugar concentration, especially glucose and sucrose, in both treatments. On the other hand, the concentrations of glutathione and cysteine highly increased by SA treatment, representing different tendencies compared to the DPPH scavenging activity and ascorbate concentration. 'Donghanchal' cultivar showed comparatively higher antioxidant activity, both constitutively and inducingly by UV-B treatment, with its higher concentrations of ascorbate and glutathione. These results suggest that barley sprouts could be used as a health-functional vegetable, contributing to the overall supply of antioxidant and sulfur-containing organic compounds.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2020

Purpose: The Rubus coreanus fruit (RF) is an important traditional medicinal herb having antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunoregulatory properties. These activities are known to change dramatically, depending on maturity of the RF. It is presumed that change of functional components, such as flavonoids, tannins, phenolic acids, triterpenoids and organic acids in RF, affect the various bioactivities. This study aimed to confirm changes in the anti-melanogenic effects of RF based on maturity, and to identify the bioactive compounds responsible. Methods: The cell viability of mature RF (MRF) and immature RF (IRF) extracts was investigated using B16F10 cells. To compare the anti-melanogenic effect of MRF and IRF extracts, we first assessed the melanin content. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis was performed to evaluate changes in the level of ellagic acid according to maturity of the RF. In addition, tyrosinase inhibitory activity of both extracts was examined. Results: MRF and IRF extracts (50-200 ㎍/mL) do not affect the cell viability of B16F10 melanoma cells. IRF extract more effectively inhibited melanin synthesis than MRF extract. The content of ellagic acid in IRF extract was higher than that obtained in MRF extract. Furthermore, greater inhibition of tyrosinase activity was observed after exposure to IRF extract than MRF extract. A positive correlation was determined between ellagic acid content and tyrosinase inhibitory activity, and a negative correlation was obtained between ellagic acid content and melanin content. Taken together, our results indicate that ellagic acid is one of the major bioactive compounds of RF that imparts a whitening effect. Conclusion: Our results indicate that ellagic acid in MRF and IRF extracts affect the anti-melanogenesis effect through inhibition of tyrosinase activity. Therefore, the ellagic acid rich IRF has greater potential for application as a natural and functional cosmetic material.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.283-288
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• 2010

This study were carried out to evaluate effect of consequent application of pig manure compost (PMC) on soil chemical properties, dehydrogenase activity, and yield of potato in volcanic ash soil. The more application rate of PMC increased, the more increased soil pH, total-nitrogen, available phosphate, exchangeable cations (K, Ca, and Mg), heavymetal (Zn and Cu)contents. When application rate of PMC and crop cultivation times increased gradually, soil dehydrogenase activity was significantly increased. After third cultivation period, dehydrogenase activity showed PMC 2 ton (3.5), PMC 4 ton (6.3), PMC 6 ton (8.0 ug TPF $g^{-1}\;24h^{-1}$), respectively. The activity was twofold higher than first cultivation period. During the third cultivation period, dehydrogenase activity increased linearly comparison to Cu and Zn contents and that was correlated with Cu ($R^2$=0.907) and Zn ($R^2$=0.859) content, respectively. As the application rate of PMC increased, the yield of potato increased, but NPK+PMC 2 ton treatment was more higher than other treatments.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.103-108
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• 2018

The usage of wild ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) has been limited due to short supply and high price. Therefore, sufficient production as well as efficient extraction of mountain ginseng are required for the development as products. In this study, wild ginseng adventitious root cultures were prepared for efficient production with advantages of fast growth and stable production. Treatment of methyl jasmonate (MJ) to wild ginseng adventitious root cultures increased the extraction yield and antioxidative activity. Further investigation on effect of extraction conditions suggested the importance of ethanol concentration on antioxidative activity and extraction yield of MJ-treated wild ginseng adventitious root cultures. Optimized extraction condition of MJ-treated wild ginseng adventitious root cultures for maximum extraction yield and antioxidative activity was determined using response surface methodology with three-level-three-factor Box-Behnken design (BBD). Extraction of 1 g MJ-treated wild ginseng adventitious root culture with 30 ml of 9% ethanol at $30^{\circ}C$ produced 310.2 mg extract with 71.0% antioxidative activity at $100{\mu}g/ml$. Taken together, MJ-treated wild ginseng adventitious root culture is valuable source for wild ginseng usage and optimized extraction condition can be used for the development of functional products or folk remedies.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.195-195
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• 2021

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1499-1508
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• 2013

In the results of investigating the role of LED light quality in enhancing the ornamental value of indoor foliage plants, amber and red light increased plant height, leaf width, and leaf stalk, and the consequent tree shape decreased the ornamental value. The chlorophyll content increased significantly under white light and compound light. With regard to the effect of plant leaf color on ornamental value, the value of lightness was markedly enhanced by red light. As to the functionality of plants according to photosynthetic activity, plants such as Dieffenbachia, Clusia, and Dracaena were found favorable to those staying indoors for a longtime from morning to evening. Spathiphyllum, and Ficus were found to be recommendable for indoor spaces used actively during afternoon because their photosynthesis was activated in the afternoon. With regard to power consumption according to light quality, white light consumed 119 W/hour, around 45% lower than that of fluorescent lamps, so it is considered the optimal artificial light quality that can enhance energy efficiency. Red light consumed 72 W/hour, only 33% of that of fluorescent lamps, but it was not considered the optimal light quality because plant growth was poor under the light quality. White light and compound light were found to be the ideal light sources for improving the functionality and ornamental value of indoor plants and reducing the cost of maintenance, but because compound light hinders people from recognizing the original color of plants and makes their eyes easily tired, white light was considered the optimal light satisfying all of the ornamental value, economic efficiency and functionality resulting from plant growth.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.582-588
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• 2017

The objective of this study was to determine inhibitory activities of four volatile plant essential oils (cinnamon oil, fennel oil, origanum oil and thyme oil) on in vitro growth of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. fragariae causing Fusarium wilt of strawberry plants. Results showed that these essential oils inhibited in vitro conidial germination and mycelial growth of F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae in a dose-dependent manner. Cinnamon oil was found to be most effective one in suppressing conidial germination while fennel oil, origanum oil and thyme oil showed moderate inhibition of conidial germination at similar levels. Cinnamon oil, origanum oil and thyme oil showed moderate antifungal activities against mycelial growth at similar levels while fennel oil had relatively lower antifungal activity against mycelial growth. Antifungal effects of these four plant essential oils in different combinations on in vitro fungal growth were also evaluated. These essential oils demonstrated synergistic antifungal activities against conidial germination and mycelial growth of F. oxysporum f. sp. fragariae in vitro. Simultaneous application of origanum oil and thyme oil enhanced their antimicrobial activities against conidial germination and fungal mycelial growth. These results underpin that volatile plant essential oils could be used in eco-friendly integrated disease management of Fusarium wilt in strawberry fields.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.2011-2015
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• 2015

Ginsenoside Rb2 (Gin-Rb2) was purified from the fruit extract of Panax ginseng. Its chemical structure was measured by spectroscopic analysis, including HR-FAB-MS, ¹H-NMR, and IR spectroscopy. Gin-Rb2 decreased potent melanogenesis in melan-a cells, with 23.4% at 80 μM without cytotoxicity. Gin-Rb2 also decreased tyrosinase and MITF protein expression in melan-a cells. Furthermore, Gin-Rb2 presented inhibition of the body pigmentation in the zebrafish in vivo system and reduced melanin contents and tyrosinase activity. These results show that Gin-Rb2 isolated from P. ginseng may be an effective skin-whitening agent via the in vitro and in vivo systems.